PSC won’t investigate Potomac Edison

April 25, 2013

MARTINSBURG - Despite concerns of Eastern Panhandle residents, the West Virginia Public Service Commission said it will not launch an investigation of Potomac Edison's billing practices at this time, according to an agency spokesperson.

Locals took issue earlier this month with unexpected increases in their power bills and have reached out to lawmakers and community members alike to discuss the problem.

Todd Meyers, a Potomac Edison spokesperson, said problems with billing were related to the company's changing meter reading routes, which resulted in back-to-back estimated bills for many Eastern Panhandle customers. The company also cited bad weather and increases in cold weather as the culprit for inconsistent meter reading and higher bills.

Martina Johnson, of the PSC, said via email the power company is supposed to do an actual meter reading every other month, with estimated readings in between. Exceptions to this "should be reasonable" Johnson wrote, and the reasons Potomac Edison gave are considered as such.

The WVPSC had its own analysts look at the region's winter weather, Johnson said.

"They determined that the winter heating season was 25 percent colder in the Eastern Panhandle, specifically in February and March of this year," Johnson said.

Johnson said the PSC also takes into account the weather when things like meter reading "go off track."

"When you take the extreme winter weather into consideration, it turns into a safety factor for the company employees who would be doing the meter reading," Johnson said.

More than 100 informal billing dispute complaints from Potomac Edison have been filed with the PSC since January 1, according to Johnson's email. There were only 33 complaints filed in the same period of time in 2012, Johnson said.

After reviewing both individual customer complaints, as well as the information Potomac Edison provided, Johnson said the Commission is satisfied with its process of handling the complaints.

"At this time, the Commission does not see the disruption associated with launching a general investigation," Johnson said. "If in the future the Commission sees something that warrants a further review, this is something (it) would look into."